The Iron Works property was a historic hub of activity in Albany. By the 1850s, the site hosted a number of buildings dedicated to the shaping of iron for buildings, riverfront commerce and the railroad, including the local trolley. Albany Iron Works, run by Copaway C. Cherry, produced iron that still graces buildings in Albany and other towns.

The iron cresting Villard Hall on the University of Oregon campus came from this very foundry. Albany Iron Works shaped iron for iron front buildings throughout Oregon. The patterns for the original Baroque pilasters for the First National Bank of Albany (the Flinn Block) were relocated to Tacoma, Washington in the late 1880s.

Historic Iron Works Foundry

The historic building on the corner of Water
Avenue and Montgomery Street, currently housing an antique shop, is the
oldest surviving industrial building in Albany. It was the former
pattern shop of Albany Iron Works until the 1950s when it closed. In
the 1850s, First Avenue featured a wooden covered bridge at Montgomery
Street. It was the starting point of annual parades that meandered
through downtown. It is appropriate that the new Riverfront Iron Works
project forge a new image and purpose for the revitalization of the
Riverfront District.